Nothing Trivial in This Pursuit

Trivia Night Oct. 17 at Alton Memorial Hospital Benefits Relay For Life

Aug 13, 2009
If your brain is packed with a lot of otherwise useless information and you want to show that off while helping a good cause, the Alton Memorial Hospital cafeteria is the place to be on Saturday, Oct. 17.
            The AMH Relay For Life team is holding a trivia night at 7 p.m. that night, complete with 10 rounds of 10 questions each. Proceeds from the fun-filled evening will benefit the 2010 Relay For Life Riverbend, which is held each summer by the American Cancer Society and raises money for cancer education and research.
            “I’ve been involved with Relay For Life since I’ve been at Alton Memorial and I also love trivia nights, so this is a perfect match for me,” says Dave Whaley, senior coordinator of Public Relations and Marketing at AMH. “There’s nothing better than having a fun evening while also raising money for such a worthy cause. My mother died last October after battling cancer for 10 years, so the efforts of the American Cancer Society and Relay For Life in particular are very special to me.”
            Whaley will emcee the event and also is formulating the 100 questions. He’s competed in several trivia nights around the area in recent years -- with more than average success, he claims.
            “This will be my first time on the organizing end of things, but I think I have a good handle on the types of questions that make it work,” Whaley says. “You want some that are a real challenge but also enough that most people in the room figure to know. And the best recipe for a winning team is to have people at your table with a variety of interests so you’re ready for all categories. The winning team will get contributions from everyone at the table.”
            Teams are encouraged to bring their own food and enjoy the evening. Soda and water will be provided. There will be a 50/50 drawing, a bake sale and door prizes. Mulligans will also be available – a maximum of one per round.
            A silent auction will include several items provided by “The Autograph Guys,” Derek Richey and Zac Bruch of Glen Carbon, Ill. Richey and Bruch have a vast assortment of autographed pictures, album covers, guitars, footballs and other items from celebrities ranging from the semi-obscure all the way up to the likes of Stan Musial, Paul McCartney and President Obama.
            Featured items up for bid at the AMH trivia night include a guitar autographed by country superstar Kenny Chesney and a football signed by Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner.
            “We’re able to catch a lot of celebrities when they come to St. Louis, but we have also traveled to Los Angeles for a lot of the stars,” Richey says. “And we followed Obama around quite a bit during the 2008 campaign to get his signature on different things.
            “We enjoy working with charities. We don’t take any money upfront. We usually agree on a consignment price, and whatever is raised beyond that is for the charity.”
            Admission for the trivia night is $15 per person or $120 for a table of eight. To reserve your space, payment must be made by Oct. 12. For more information or to reserve a table, call Dave Whaley at 618-433-7947 or e-mail him at drw5445@bjc.org. Checks should be made payable to the American Cancer Society.

For more information, contact Dave Whaley
Senior Coordinator, Public Relations
(618) 433-7947 � drw5445@bjc.org
www.altonmemorialhospital.org